Beauty and Resistance: Spiritual Rhythms for Formation and Repair

Englewood Review of Books Readers' Best Awards Honorable Mention

Build sacred rhythms for rested, sustainable justice―where beauty and resistance naturally flow

Many today are caught in cycles of outrage and exhaustion while trying to stay sane and engaged. Is there a different way? How can you pursue justice, work towards a renewed world, and sustain your faith without burning out?

In this spiritually rich guidebook, Jonathan Walton offers a transformative rule of life―an ancient spiritual practice reimagined for today's weary believers. His framework roots authentic action in deep, restorative rest, creating enduring rhythms that connect inner renewal with meaningful engagement ina broken world. Drawing from desert spirituality and the wisdom of organizers, Walton provides the spiritual scaffolding needed to sustain both interior formation and outward engagement. These practices and frameworks show you how to live a life so rooted that your pursuit of justice flows from a place of authentic restfulness, not reactivity.

Through personal narrative and practical guidance, Walton reveals the four essential rhythms that nourish a life of purpose:

• Rest: Choose to work out of rest, not for it
• Restore: Replenish your inner life for the work before you
• Resist: Seek individual and collective flourishing
• Repeat: Establish rhythms to be a whole person in fruitful community

In Beauty and Resistance, you'll learn

• how to reflect God's kingdom in every area of your life.
• how to live out a rule of life grounded in Christ andhis kingdom that leads to communal flourishing.
• how both beauty and resistance are necessary to fully engage with both delight and grief, lament and rejoicing, and appreciation and disappointment.
• how to live within your limits tocontribute to radical flourishing in the world, recognizing that God is God and you are not.

Beauty and Resistance shows how to hold together the tensions of delight and grief, awe and disappointment. It's an invitation to tradereactivity for rhythm, burnout for balance, and anxious spirituality for grounded connection with God, self, and neighbors. Discover the path to a spirituality where beauty and resistance naturally flow from a deeply rested life.

Jonathan Walton is a writer, speaker, and facilitator at the intersection of faith, justice and emotional health. He leads Beauty and Resistance Cohorts, writes The Crux on Substack and is a senior resource specialist for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship focusing on political discipleship and civic engagement. He has written five books, including Twelve Lies That Hold America Captive. He holds a degree in creative writing from Columbia University and an MA from the City University in New York in the Study of the Americas. He lives in Queens, New York, and attends New Life Fellowship.